Tag Archives: WHITE

Twitter suspends major alt-right accounts.

Posted on by
237

Twitter this week suspended several prominent accounts linked to the alt-right movement, the fringe white nationalist group that helped propel President-elect Donald Trump to the White House. As USA Today reports, the site suspended the accounts on Tuesday, the same day it announced a long-awaited measure to combat abuse on its platform.

 

Among the users suspended this week is Richard Spencer, head of the National Policy Institute, a white nationalist think tank that, according to its website, is “dedicated to the heritage, identity, and future of people of European descent in the United State.” Spencer’s personal verified account was suspended, as were those of the National Policy Institute and his magazine, Radix Journal. Other suspended alt-right Twitter users include Paul Town, Pax Dickinson, Ricky Vaughn and John Rivers.

 

In an interview with The Daily Caller, Spencer described Twitter’s move as “corporate Stalinism.” “Twitter is trying to airbrush the alt-right out of existence,” he told the website. “They’re clearly afraid. They will fail!”

 

In a YouTube video posted online Tuesday, he said that online “execution squads” were targeting the alt-right, comparing it, curiously, to Adolf Hitler’s purge of Nazi leaders in 1934.

 

Twitter declined to comment on the suspensions in a statement to USA Today, citing “privacy and security reasons.”

 

The site has come under increased pressure in recent years to crack down on abuse and trolling among its users, and its failure to do so reportedly thwarted potential acquisition bids from Disney and Salesforce. On Tuesday, Twitter announced a new feature that allows users to mute keywords, phrases, emoji, user names, and hashtags.

 

The alt-right movement has flourished on both Facebook and Twitter, despite complaints over the group’s hateful rhetoric and abuse.

 

A study from George Washington University in September found that although Twitter has effectively cracked down on accounts linked to ISIS, white nationalists and neo-Nazis have continued to thrive on the platform “with relative impunity.”

 

In July, Twitter banned notorious troll Milo Yiannopoulos after he encouraged his followers to tweet racist messages to Ghostbusters actress Leslie Jones, though before Tuesday, the site had never suspended alt-right accounts en masse.

 

The suspensions also come after Trump’s controversial decision to appoint Steve Bannon as chief strategist in his administration.

 

Bannon, the executive chairman of the right-wing site Breitbart News, served as Trump’s campaign CEO and has openly espoused racist and anti-Semitic views in the past.

 

His appointment to a top White House post has raised serious concerns over the influence he may wield over the Trump administration.

Black Student Admits To Hanging ‘White Only’ Signs Next To Water Fountains, Bathrooms

Posted on by
1

A black college student this week acknowledged  posting “White Only” and “Black Only” signs next to restrooms and water fountains on campus. It turned out to be a student art project that didn’t go over well.
“It brought up feelings of a past that our generation has never seen, which I think is why it was so shocking for us to see,” said Micah Oliver, president of the Black Student Union, according to local ABC affiliate Channel 27 News
More than 100 students turned out for Wednesday night’s Black Student Union meeting at the State University of New York at Buffalo, where emotions were inflated when they discussed the signs.
“There was fear expressed, anger, disappointment all of that,” Oliver said.

Then, amid the discussion, Ashley Powell, a black fine arts graduate student, stood up and acknowledged that she was the one who had posted the signs, according to The Buffalo News, which reported:.

The Spectrum noted that many students at the meeting were outraged and walked out. Other students, the newspaper said, denounced the signs on social media as “racist” and “an act of terrorism.”
The Spectrum added that “the project was for a 400-level art class titled ‘Instillation: Urban Space.’ Powell said the goal of the signs and project was to see what people’s reactions would be to them.” The signs were installed at water fountains and bathrooms in Clemens Hall.

Student art project or not, students say Powell crossed the line on this one.

“I think a lot of people like artsy extreme stuff and use that sometimes as an excuse to get away with anything,” Mikhal Gonzalez, a UB freshman, told ABC-27. “I don’t think that’s right.”

Powell offered an apology of sorts.

“I apologize for the extreme trauma, fear, and actual hurt and pain these signs brought about,” she said.

“I apologize if you were hurt, but I do not apologize for what I did. Once again, this is my art practice. My work directly involves black trauma and non-white suffering. I do not believe that there can be social healing without first coming to terms with and expressing our own pain, rage, and trauma.”